This week we had a big event, Sadie's first day at doggy school...beginning obedience classes. This is a Mommy/Tyler date every Thursday at 5:30 pm for 8 weeks. I was so excited to share this "project" with Tyler. We were suppossed to have our first class last week, but they delayed the start of the class for one week to get more doggies signed up. We arrived promptly at 5:30 for our one hour class. I knew this might be a little iffy since Tyler is used to eating dinner as soon as we get home but we gave it a shot! There were only 2 other doggies in the class and they were both rescue dogs, with little socialization...so Sadie fit right in, and she was the old lady of the class, being about 1 year old.
In our first class we had introductions of the owners and doggies. There was one dog, about 7 months, who was a real barker...more so than Sadie. I expected some embarrassing moments with Sadie, because she barks at other dogs, not because she is being ferocious, but quite the opposite...she wants to introduce herself and play. Well the couple with this noisy dog had to get up and escort their doggy outside the training area every time it barked! That poor man must have taken his doggy "out" about 20 times. We were able to use a different technique, a spray bottle with water. If Sadie barked, we simply spritzed her with water in the face. She learned pretty quick and she only needed 4 or 5 squirts in the face before she got with the program!
Before we started our learning, we started with calming music and a massage. No, we didn't GET a massage, we GAVE a massage to Sadie! She thoroughly enjoyed that! After that, we learned 3 techniques with Sadie, each using a "clicker". We taught her to look for a treat when she hears the click. She learned to respond to her name with a click, and she learned to "watch me" with a click. After we practiced these techniques a few times we learned some do's and don'ts. Like what they can/cannot eat...did you know that grapes and raisins are deadly? And, the seeds of most fruits are deadly as well. Just that information alone was worth the price of admission!!
After our lessons were done, we were given some handouts, a folder and additional info. Then came the part I wasn't expecting. Since these lessons were at Petsmart, they took the "opportunity" for us to walk our dogs through the store. I thought this was just to practice walking our dogs....wouldn't you? Well, it wasn't for that reason. We were being "introduced" to products recommended by our trainer. I almost made it through the store, but I saw a great deal on doggy bones, the real kind but they were sterilized with some meat still attached. Well, I just knew Sadie would enjoy chewing on those, so I just had to get a bag. Then, we got to an aisle where the food dishes were and they had a portable water dish. It is canvas and it fold for "easy" storage. Well, I had to get that too...afterall, we were just told to bring a bowl for water when we come to training next week! This one was great! So I ended up dropping about $23 dollars before I left the store!!! But, before that we had an opportunity to put our dogs on the scale to see how much they weighed....Sadie weighed a whopping 53 pounds! I bet she has gained at least 8 of those pounds since we got her.
All in all, it was a fun time, even if they wouldn't let Tyler hold the leash during training...they said he had to be 16, oh well...I hope it can keep his interest, because it was a great Mommy/Son activity!
Have a great weekend, I hope to post again about Taylor's vocabulary.
Hugs to all!
The Olson's
In our first class we had introductions of the owners and doggies. There was one dog, about 7 months, who was a real barker...more so than Sadie. I expected some embarrassing moments with Sadie, because she barks at other dogs, not because she is being ferocious, but quite the opposite...she wants to introduce herself and play. Well the couple with this noisy dog had to get up and escort their doggy outside the training area every time it barked! That poor man must have taken his doggy "out" about 20 times. We were able to use a different technique, a spray bottle with water. If Sadie barked, we simply spritzed her with water in the face. She learned pretty quick and she only needed 4 or 5 squirts in the face before she got with the program!
Before we started our learning, we started with calming music and a massage. No, we didn't GET a massage, we GAVE a massage to Sadie! She thoroughly enjoyed that! After that, we learned 3 techniques with Sadie, each using a "clicker". We taught her to look for a treat when she hears the click. She learned to respond to her name with a click, and she learned to "watch me" with a click. After we practiced these techniques a few times we learned some do's and don'ts. Like what they can/cannot eat...did you know that grapes and raisins are deadly? And, the seeds of most fruits are deadly as well. Just that information alone was worth the price of admission!!
After our lessons were done, we were given some handouts, a folder and additional info. Then came the part I wasn't expecting. Since these lessons were at Petsmart, they took the "opportunity" for us to walk our dogs through the store. I thought this was just to practice walking our dogs....wouldn't you? Well, it wasn't for that reason. We were being "introduced" to products recommended by our trainer. I almost made it through the store, but I saw a great deal on doggy bones, the real kind but they were sterilized with some meat still attached. Well, I just knew Sadie would enjoy chewing on those, so I just had to get a bag. Then, we got to an aisle where the food dishes were and they had a portable water dish. It is canvas and it fold for "easy" storage. Well, I had to get that too...afterall, we were just told to bring a bowl for water when we come to training next week! This one was great! So I ended up dropping about $23 dollars before I left the store!!! But, before that we had an opportunity to put our dogs on the scale to see how much they weighed....Sadie weighed a whopping 53 pounds! I bet she has gained at least 8 of those pounds since we got her.
All in all, it was a fun time, even if they wouldn't let Tyler hold the leash during training...they said he had to be 16, oh well...I hope it can keep his interest, because it was a great Mommy/Son activity!
Have a great weekend, I hope to post again about Taylor's vocabulary.
Hugs to all!
The Olson's
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